Gloria Trevi notched a courtroom win Wednesday, securing the right to force about two dozen witnesses living in Mexico to sit for depositions before Mexican judges, if necessary, as she fights claims she helped run a child sex ring.
Los Angeles County Judge Jared D. Moses ruled Trevi can compel the testimony under Mexican court rules, but he ordered her legal team to coordinate with lawyers for four Jane Doe plaintiffs accusing her of abuse tied to an alleged sex cult involving her former manager Sergio Andrade. Trevi denies the allegations.
Karen Menzies, the lead lawyer for the Jane Does, told the court Wednesday that two of the Mexico-based witnesses Trevi wants to question are alleged survivors of the sex ring. In filings, Menzies said five witnesses had already agreed to testify voluntarily, so she argued there was no need to involve the Mexican court system.
After the hearing in Pasadena, supporters of the Jane Does warned that forcing witnesses to testify before Mexican judges could intimidate them and risk derailing the Oct. 20 trial date. “This is going to scare them. It's giving power back to the Mexican authorities,†Modesta Lopez, who was leading the group of women dressed in matching T-shirts, tells Rolling Stone.
“I don't think the Jane Does will get justice if the courts in Mexico are involved. This will silence them and delay the case. We don't want that,†fellow supporter Teresa Becerra says.
Appearing by video at the hearing, Menzies told the court she feared giving judges in Mexico power over the depositions would limit her ability to ask follow-up questions on cross-examination. “They don't necessarily ask all the questions that we request. They can choose which questions they want to ask,†she told the judge.
A lawyer for Trevi pushed back when Menzies suggested the parties could work out a detailed list of questions approved by Judge Moses ahead of time. He said the international treaty governing the process “clearly provides that it's up to the Mexican judge to proceed as he sees fit, regardless of what the parties provide.â€
“I think it might be stepping on the shoes of that judge if we present the judge with anything that this court has mandated,†Trevi's lawyer, Leo Preciado, said. “I think it runs the risk of offending the Mexican authority involved.â€
In a statement sent to Rolling Stone late Wednesday, Trevi's other lawyer, Camille Vasquez, said she was “pleased that Ms. Trevi can take this important international discovery, which will help exonerate her once and for all.â€
Speaking with Rolling Stone after the hearing, Menzies said that in cases where a witness in Mexico agrees to a voluntary deposition, she hopes the California court will direct the parties to take the testimony outside Mexico's judicial system. “I think the court recognized that this is a reasonable request,†she said, adding that such an approach would allow both sides to conduct fair discovery and properly question witnesses.
Menzies added that her clients were encouraged by the group of 10 women who attended the hearing. “When we first started this case, it really felt like everyone was against the survivors. But over time, with the [plaintiffs] having the courage to come forward to seek accountability, more individuals have been willing to show their support. It means a lot,†Menzies said. “The power differential still exists.â€
Trevi, 58, was first sued by two Jane Does in a blockbuster lawsuit filed in December 2022 that claimed Trevi, Andrade, and another woman, Mary Boquitas, lured them into the alleged sex ring when they were 13 and 15 years old — when Trevi was an adult. The prior complaint alleged some of the abuse took place in California, and it was filed at the end of a three-year window that temporarily lifted the statute of limitations for childhood sex abuse claims in the state.
Trevi, often dubbed Mexico's Madonna, was arrested in Brazil in 2000 and spent four years locked up in Mexico before being acquitted of rape, kidnapping, and corruption of minors. A Mexican judge ruled there wasn't enough evidence to back the case brought by prosecutors.
After again repudiating the allegations when they resurfaced three years ago, Trevi fired back with a cross-complaint in December 2023, claiming Andrade sexually abused her as well. Trevi says the Jane Does knew she was a victim and should be held liable for aiding and abetting or helping cover it up. She alleges Andrade repeatedly raped her and that the years of abuse pushed her to attempt suicide.
“I have chosen to take this legal action to fight for justice and to send a message that such appalling acts should not be tolerated. No one should have to go through what I experienced, and I am determined to hold those responsible accountable for their actions,†Trevi said in a statement to Rolling Stone.
Just two days after she filed her cross-complaint, two more Jane Does sued her in Los Angeles, accusing the pop star of recruiting them into Andrade's circle and pressuring them to have sex or face consequences. One accuser, Jane Doe 3, claims Trevi warned that if she rejected Andrade, her older sister, an aspiring performer, would be kicked out of the group and her career “ruined.â€
According to that lawsuit, Jane Doe 3 says that in 1995, when she was over 18, Trevi led her to Andrade's bedroom, pushed her inside, and waited outside while she was raped. Afterward, Trevi allegedly thanked her, saying, “You just saved your sister … You will not regret it. [Andrade] is a wonderful man, and he is the person that I love the most.â€
Andrade, a once-powerful producer previously convicted of rape and kidnapping in Mexico, has kept a low profile in recent years and has not responded to the lawsuits. Attempts to locate him abroad have not been successful, according to court filings.
On Wednesday, Judge Moses said he didn't think the Oct. 20 trial date for all the dueling claims in the various lawsuits would stick, given the number of international depositions still to be done. He set a follow-up hearing for July.
